Are you planning to build a smart home but dreading the cost of buying a dedicated hub? Before you spend extra money on a separate control box, you should check your living room. There is a very high chance you already own a powerful smart home hub without even realizing it. Through a strategy called “Hub Everywhere,” Samsung has been quietly hiding full SmartThings hub technology inside their everyday appliances and screens.
The Hub Everywhere Strategy Explained
Traditionally, connecting different smart home gadgets required buying a standalone device, like the Aeotec Smart Home Hub. This hub acts like a traffic controller, ensuring your lights, locks, and sensors can all talk to each other without cluttering your wireless internet.
However, Samsung realized that almost everyone already has a large, powered screen in the center of their home. Over the past few years, they have embedded that exact traffic controller technology directly into their televisions, monitors, and refrigerators. Instead of plugging another plastic box into your internet router, your television can manage your entire smart home while you watch movies.
Which Devices Have The Secret Hub?
More than two hundred Samsung products currently feature this built-in capability. If you bought a premium Samsung product recently, you might already have exactly what you need.
- Smart Televisions: Over 137 modern Samsung TVs, including Neo QLED, OLED, and The Frame models, have the hub built inside.
- Computer Monitors: Samsung Smart Monitors, such as the M5, M7, and M8 series, can act as your smart home command center while you work.
- Soundbars and Audio: Certain premium soundbars and the Samsung Music Frame also include this hidden feature.
- Kitchen Appliances: Dozens of Family Hub refrigerators can control your smart lights directly from the touchscreen on the door.
Modern Protocols Built Right In
The best part about these hidden hubs is that they are incredibly modern. Newer Samsung televisions and monitors can act as universal controllers. They speak the newest smart home languages, allowing gadgets from different brands to work together seamlessly.
Many of these devices also support advanced networking signals. You can think of these newer networks like a bucket brigade for your wireless signals. Instead of every smart bulb yelling across the house to reach your router, the devices pass the signal to each other, creating a fast and reliable web of connections.
If you own multiple Samsung devices with built-in hubs, they automatically group together to extend this wireless web even further throughout your house. This means your smart routines will run faster, and some automations will even work if your home internet goes down.
How To Check Your Gear
Before you purchase any standalone hub, open the SmartThings app on your smartphone. Navigate to your connected television or refrigerator and check the settings menu. If your device supports the hub feature, you will see an option to enable it right there. It is a completely free way to jumpstart your smart home journey today.
Image Credit: Samsung